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Created: 29 June 2026

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• VOL 6, No. 2 (2026)

Background. Sperm sediment cytology (SSC) can detect inflammatory, dysbiotic and infection associated alterations in male accessory glands, but the lack of standardized interpretation criteria limits its clinical application. Objective. To develop and systematize a catalog of cytological findings in semen sediment for unified interpretation in men with reproductive dysfunction. Materials and methods. Between 2019 and 2025, 1221 residual semen samples from men aged 18–56 years (after routine semen analysis) were examined at the International Cytology School & Innovatory Medical School. SSC was performed using conventional cytological methods with upgrade and standardization of preanalytical and analytical stages. Cytological findings were ranked and clinically interpreted. Results. Two groups of atypical cytological patterns were identified: nonspecific (types 1–8) and specific (types 9–14) epithelial and non epithelial cellular changes. A catalog comprising 14 finding types with clear quantitative thresholds was developed: leukocytes ≥3 per high power field (HPF), macrophages ≥2/HPF, epithelial desquamation ≥5/HPF, as well as morphological criteria for degenerative, inflammatory and infection associated changes. Specific findings included Trichomonas vaginalis, chlamydial inclusions, Candida spp., Leptothrix, human papillomavirus (HPV) associated alterations, and other viral and protozoan markers. Conclusion. The proposed catalog standardizes cytological examination of semen sediment, reduces inter observer variability, increases the diagnostic value of SSC in the comprehensive work up of male infertility, and provides a rationale for targeted molecular verification.

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Created: 24 March 2026

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• VOL 6, No. 1 (2026)

Azo compounds, or aniline dyes, have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. This has led to their widespread use in agriculture to protect crops, as well as in industrial processes and technologies to protect various materials (plastics, wood, rubber, etc.) from microbial attack. At the same time, the use of azo dyes in medicine is limited by their high toxicity and potential carcinogenicity. Resistance to azo dyes develops extremely slowly in clinical strains of bacteria and fungi due to their limited exposure to these compounds. Consequently, the sensitivity values of microbial cultures to azo dyes will remain stable over a long period of time. It has been established that strains of the same species are characterized by marked heterogeneity in their sensitivity to azo dyes. These stable characteristics of bacterial and fungal strains are required for conducting epidemiological analysis, using them as phenotypic epidemiological markers. Repeated isolation of cultures with similar indicators from objects in the nosocomial environment can be regarded as evidence of microorganisms’ circulation in the nosocomial environment, which is considered one of the main signs of nosocomial (hospital) strains.

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Created: 30 September 2023

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• VOL 3, No. 3 (2023)

According to WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen, sixth edition (2021) [1], there are a number of techniques available to measure ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) and DFI levels in semen and each of them has its inherent limitations. According to WHO (2021), two methods for measuring ROS and DFI seems to be attractive due to reliability and simplifying of performance not only in laboratory conditions but also in point-of-care (POC) one. Russian technique utilizes Tetrazolium Nitroblue for measuring ROS which kit named ‘OxySperm (NBT-assay)’ and SCD-assay named ‘HaloSperm’ have been replicated and upgrade methods compared to WHO (2021) and another fundamental scientific papers. Both kits showed not only reproducible results compared with WHO (2021) but also have technological advantages over the previous described methods. This publication presents step-by-step operational procedures of novel Russian kits.